All Vocab 1-6

Common goods

Goods that all people may use but that are of limited supply.

Democracy

A form of government where political power rests in the hands of the people.

Direct democracy

A form of government where people participate directly in making government decisions instead of choosing representatives to do this for them.

Elite theory

Claims political power rests in the hands of a small, elite group of people.

Government

The means by which a society organizes itself and allocates authority in order to accomplish collective goals.

Ideology

The beliefs and ideals that help to shape political opinion and eventually policy.

Intense preferences

Beliefs and preferences based on strong feelings regarding an issue that someone adheres to over time.

Latent preferences

Beliefs and preferences people are not deeply committed to and that change over time.

Majority rule

A fundamental principle of democracy; the majority should have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole.

Minority rights

Protections for those who are not part of the majority.

Monarchy

A form of government where one ruler, usually a hereditary one, holds political power.

Oligarchy

A form of government where a handful of elite society members hold political power.

Partisanship

Strong support, or even blind allegiance, for a particular political party.

Pluralist theory

Claims political power rests in the hands of groups of people.

Political power

Influence over a government’s institutions, leadership, or policies.

Politics

The process by which we decide how resources will be allocated and which policies government will pursue.

Private goods

Goods provided by private businesses that can be used only by those who pay for them.

Public goods

Goods provided by government that anyone can use and that are available to all without charge.

Representative democracy

A form of government where voters elect representatives to make decisions and pass laws on behalf of all the people instead of allowing people to vote directly on laws.

Social capital

Connections with others and the willingness to interact and aid them.

Toll good

A good that is available to many people but is used only by those who can pay the price to do so.

Totalitarianism

A form of government where government is all-powerful and citizens have no rights.

New Jersey Plan

A plan that called for a one-house national legislature; each state would receive one vote.

Republic

A form of government in which political power rests in the hands of the people, not a monarch, and is exercised by elected representatives.

Reserved powers

Any powers not prohibited by the Constitution or delegated to the national government; powers reserved to the states and denied to the federal government.

Separation of powers

The sharing of powers among three separate branches of government.

Social contract

An agreement between people and government in which citizens consent to be governed so long as the government protects their natural rights.

Supremacy clause

The statement in Article VI of the Constitution that federal law is superior to laws passed by state legislatures.

The Federalist Papers

A collection of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the Constitution.

Three-Fifths Compromise

A compromise between northern and southern states that called for counting of all a state’s free population and 60 percent of its enslaved population for both federal taxation and representation in Congress.

Unicameral legislature

A legislature with only one house, like the Confederation Congress or the legislature proposed by the New Jersey Plan.

Veto

The power of the president to reject a law proposed by Congress.

Virginia Plan

A plan for a two-house legislature; representatives would be elected to the lower house based on each state’s population; representatives for the upper house would be chosen by the lower house.

Bill of attainder

A legislative action declaring someone guilty without a trial; prohibited under the Constitution.

Block grant

A type of grant that comes with less stringent federal administrative conditions and provides recipients more latitude over how to spend grant funds.

Categorical grant

A federal transfer formulated to limit recipients’ discretion in the use of funds and subject them to strict administrative criteria.

Concurrent powers

Shared state and federal powers that range from taxing, borrowing, and making and enforcing laws to establishing court systems.

Cooperative federalism

A style of federalism in which both levels of government coordinate their actions to solve national problems, leading to the blending of layers as in a marble cake.

Creeping categorization

A process in which the national government attaches new administrative requirements to block grants or supplants them with new categorical grants.

Devolution

A process in which powers from the central government in a

Agent of political socialization

A person or entity that teaches and influences others about politics through the use of information.

Bandwagon effect

Increased media coverage of candidates who poll high.

Bradley effect

The difference between a poll result and an election result in which voters gave a socially desirable poll response rather than a true response that might be perceived as racist.

Classical liberalism

A political ideology based on belief in individual liberties and rights and the idea of free will, with little role for government.

Communism

A political and economic system in which, in theory, the government promotes common ownership of all property, means of production, and materials to prevent the exploitation of workers while creating an equal society; in practice, most communist governments have used force to maintain control.

Covert content

Ideologically slanted information presented as unbiased information in order to influence public opinion.

Diffuse support

The widespread belief that a country and its legal system are legitimate.

Exit poll

An election poll taken by interviewing voters as they leave a polling place.

Fascism

A political system of total control by the ruling party or political leader over the economy, the military, society, and culture and often the private lives of citizens.

Favorability poll

A public opinion poll that measures a public's positive feelings about a candidate or politician.

Heuristics

Shortcuts or generalizations for decision making.

Horserace coverage

Day-to-day media coverage of candidate performance in the election.

Leading question

A question worded to lead a respondent to give a desired answer.

Margin of error

A number that states how far the poll results may be from the actual preferences of the total population of citizens.

Modern conservatism

A political ideology that prioritizes individual liberties, preferring a smaller government that stays out of the economy.

Modern liberalism

A political ideology focused on equality and supporting government intervention in society and the economy if it promotes equality.

Overt content

Political information whose author makes clear that only one side is presented.

Political culture

The prevailing political attitudes and beliefs within a society or region.

Political elite

A political opinion leader who alerts the public to changes or problems.

Political socialization

The process of learning the norms and practices of a political system through others and societal institutions.

Public opinion

A collection of opinions of an individual or a group of individuals on a topic, person, or event.

Push poll

Politically biased campaign information presented as a poll in order to change minds.

Random sample

A limited number of people from the overall population selected in such a way that each has an equal chance of being chosen.

Representative sample

A group of respondents demographically similar to the population of interest.

Socialism

A political and economic system in which the government uses its authority to promote social and economic equality, providing everyone with basic services and equal opportunities and requiring citizens with more wealth to contribute more.

Straw poll

An informal and unofficial election poll conducted with a non-random population.

Theory of delegate representation

A theory that assumes the politician is in office to be the voice of the people and to vote only as the people want.

Traditional conservatism

A political ideology supporting the authority of the monarchy and the church in the belief that government provides the rule of law.

Ballot fatigue

The result when a voter stops voting for offices and initiatives at the bottom of a long ballot.

Caucus

A form of candidate nomination that occurs in a town-hall style format rather than a day-long election; usually reserved for presidential elections.

Chronic minority

Voters who belong to political parties that tend not to be competitive in national elections because they are too small to become a majority or because of the Electoral College system distribution in their state.

Closed primary

An election in which only voters registered with a party may vote for that party's candidates.

Coattail effect

The result when a popular presidential candidate helps candidates from the same party win their own elections.

Delegates

Party members who are chosen to represent a particular candidate at the party's state- or national-level nominating convention.

District system

The means by which electoral votes are divided between candidates based on who wins districts and/or the state.

Early voting

An accommodation that allows voting up to two weeks before Election Day.

Electoral College

The constitutionally created group of individuals, chosen by the states, with the responsibility of formally selecting the next U.S. president.

Incumbency advantage

The advantage held by officeholders that allows them to often win reelection.

Incumbent

The current holder of a political office.

Initiative

A law or constitutional amendment proposed and passed by the voters